The Perfect Match

"Ronie, why did you pay thirty thousand to Antrix that too without consulting me?" Shobha almost shrieked at him.

Annoyed with her inquisition, he stopped tying the knot of his necktie, cocked his head towards her and said giving her a hard glance, "Darling, you know that he's a talented writer. With a little help of mine at least one of his book may see the light of the day."

"You mean—you're going to pay for publishing his book?" Shobha retorted expressing her objection and unhappiness.

"Yes," he looked into the mirror, fixed the tie properly and started to saunter towards the dining table for breakfast.

Following him, Shobha again yelled at him almost giving a warning this time, "I won't let you do this charity!"

"Honey, don't get upset. And you know pretty well that I can do anything for my near and dear ones," he said in a firm tone and looked at the dining table.

"No! You cannot," came her shrill voice from behind.

He grabbed his briefcase and rushed out without taking the breakfast.

For the next two days, there was no communication between them.

Third day.

"Ronie, I am searching the bouquet Hans presented me last week on my birthday," Shobha enquired from him showing her anxiety laced with anger.

"Dumped to the dustbin," he replied carelessly.

Infuriated by his casual response, she shouted, "Threw out? Without asking me?"

"The flowers had dried completely..." and before he could finish, she snapped, "You've nothing to do with it. You know, it was gifted to me by my best friend..." and before she could complete, he interrupted, "Honey, after marriage, only a husband could be a best friend."

Gazing eye-to-eye, she raised her finger at him and grimaced, "You won't understand."

Frustrated with day-to-day bickering, Ronie said coolly as he had already decided, "Dear, we've nothing in common except our rare blood group. And we cannot depend upon this only compatibility to lead a peaceful life...so better we choose our ways separately."

Shobha batted her eyelids and found herself almost tied to the bed. She was in the hospital and had undergone a major surgical procedure of Kidney Transplantation when both her kidneys failed leading her into comma.

She knew that she was advised for kidney transplant. But despite their best efforts, they had failed in finding a suitable donor and that delay almost costing her life.

"I cannot believe that I'm alive," she wondered with a sigh. Hans, her husband, sitting beside her bed turned his face towards her, tried to look into her half opened eyes and caressed her head.

After a short while, he said, "Do you know who saved your life?" She gave a very slight side-to-side nod and pursed her eyes. "Ronie." Hans disclosed.

Listening the name of her first husband, first she opened her eyes more than she could and then closed. During this very short period of her eyes' flipping, a number of thoughts flashed into her memory-

"I can do anything for my near and dear ones."

"Nothing is common between you and me except the rare blood group O-ve."

And he had fulfilled his vow of doing anything for his near and dear one.

She was not near to him anymore, but was she still dear to him? She thought.

Perhaps-yes! Perhaps-no! Her mind tried to baffle her.

"Yes and only yes," her heart rebuked her.

And there was no further argument between her mind and heart. For the first time she had surrendered to her heart.

"Where is he?" She opened her eyes and tried to know about Ronie.

"There," her husband indicated towards the adjacent bed of ICU.

She turned her head towards Ronie lying on the bed recuperating after donating his kidney to her.

And they exchanged smiles; his full of commitment, her full of gratefulness.

First time she felt one more thing common between them other than their blood group; love.

Perhaps it was first time that she had realized the true color of love by the sacrifice made by none other than Ronie who she never loved.

“O God!” she whispered.

And a drop of tear escaped her closed eyes.

Perhaps it was first time she had experienced the pain of leaving such a gem of a person like Ronie.

Though their minds never matched, his kidney had matched with her body perfectly ensuring her uneventful recovery.